Jeff Capel captured the attention of college basketball fans across the nation earlier this week, getting a verbal commitment from five-star 2022 guard Jalen Hood-Schifino.
The 6-foot-4 Hood-Schifino currently plays at Lincolnton, N.C.'s Combine High School and is Pitt's first top-25 prospect since Steven Adams in 2012. Needless to say, there's some hype here ... which has caused concern among Pitt fans.
On one hand, sure, they're pumped to see Capel and company snag a player of Hood-Schifino's pedigree. Even better, he's a Penn Hills native and the nephew of both former Penn Hills and West Virginia player Drew Schifino and former Titans and Texans receiver Jake Schifino. Drew is one of the most prolific scorers in WPIAL history — registering 2,318 points in all and 30.2 per game as a senior when he led Penn Hills to the Quad-A state title game — setting the expectations high for Jalen when he returns home.
On the other hand, though ... Will he actually come to Pitt?
Hood-Schifino doesn't graduate until 2022, and the more he develops, the more attention he'll draw from the country's top-shelf programs. It's something Drew acknowledges, but he also gave reassurance to the Pitt faithful.
"Obviously right now it’s still early in the recruiting, and by the time Jalen is a senior in high school he will have offers from just about every top school," Drew was telling me on Thursday. "As long as Jeff [Capel] is at Pitt, I think Jalen will be a Pitt Panther ... To play at home is very important because that’s where it all started at. His family and friends can always come and see him play."
Speaking with Schifino, it's clear his nephew's decision traces directly to Capel. Drew lauds Capel's ability to relate with his recruits and to talk to them as human beings vs. being a "salesman" like other recruiters. More than this, though:
"It was very important [to have Capel at Pitt], especially with my sister, Jalen’s mother [Adrianne 'Angel' Schifino]," Schifino said. "She has a good relationship with the Capel brothers. Jeff is very unique and the most important thing is he connects with kids off the court ... He’s a genuine person."
It didn't end there for Schifino, who, despite playing at West Virginia, had to give Pitt credit for their decision to hire Capel.
"With the program right now, I think they nailed a home run with the Coach Capel hire because he can recruit," Schifino said. "He will bring NBA talent to Pitt year in and year out. His track record proves it at Duke and Oklahoma. I know everybody says anybody can recruit at Duke, but he brought Blake Griffin to Oklahoma and another McDonalds All-American [Willie Warren] there."
Beyond this, I wanted to pick Schifino's brain on his nephew's skillset. Watching the highlight reels can sometimes be deceptive, so what does Schifino see when his nephew laces 'em up and hits the hardwood?
"Jalen is just a complete player," Schifino said. "He’s so mature and poised on the court. He plays like a senior. He is what you call a 'floor general.' I call him Jason Kidd. The older he gets, the better he will get, so the sky is the limit for Jalen. He’s a humble kid that wants to get better, and he respects the game of basketball. A lot of young kids believe the hype because of their rankings and start thinking they are bigger than basketball. Not with Jalen."
While Hood-Schifino's skills are blossoming as a high schooler, Schifino says he saw the makings of something great at an even earlier age.
"Always growing up I told him he has to play basketball every day," Schifino said. "Play imaginary basketball with yourself. Watch a lot of basketball on TV, study it, emulate your game after somebody very good. I knew at an early age he was going D-1. He just had that 'it' factor. He always wanted to play with older guys and was just a basketball junkie. I knew his dedication was crazy."
That said, Schifino — being a prolific scorer and all — did have a criticism of his nephew's game.
"His weakness right now, I will say every young guy’s weakness is shooting," he said. "You can always improve on that, and also I think he’s too unselfish. Especially in my eyes because I never saw a shot I didn’t like *laughs*."
All the praise aside, I had to get down to business with one pressing matter: What will Schifino do when Jalen's Panthers face off with the Mountaineers? Who will he even cheer for in that one?
"When Jalen plays WVU, I want him to be the leading scorer and I want the game to be tied," Schifino began. "Power in the building goes out and the game ends in a tie. *laughs*"
